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2026-03-26 14:22:44
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CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 175
~ANYA POV~(Two days later)César hadn't touched me since the Diaz incident.Not sexually, not intimately, not even the casual brushes of skin that used to make my body respond in ways I hated.He had been perfectly controlled, perfectly respectful, keeping a careful distance whenever we were in the same room, and I should have been relieved. I should have been grateful that he was finally giving me the physical space I had been demanding.But instead the tension was suffocating.It hung in the air between us like humidity before a storm, thick and oppressive and impossible to ignore, and I felt it every time we passed each other in the narrow hallway of the house.Every time our hands brushed reaching for the same dish, every time I caught him watching me with those ice-blue eyes that stripped me bare.I was in the kitchen making lunch when he came downstairs, just a simple pasta for Marcello who was at school, and I heard his footsteps on the stairs, heard him pause in the doorway
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 174
THE THERAPIST~ANYA POV~The therapist's office was tucked into a quiet building in the 6th arrondissement, up three flights of narrow stairs that creaked under my feet.When I had found Dr. Moreau's name in an online directory of English-speaking therapists in Paris I had used a burner phone to make the appointment. Because I didn't trust that César wasn't monitoring my regular cell.The waiting room was small and comfortable, decorated in soft blues and greys that were probably meant to be calming, and I sat in a chair by the window watching people pass on the street below while my knee bounced with nervous energy.I had told César I was going shopping.He had offered to come with me, offered to have Iñigo drive me, offered a dozen things that were really just different ways of saying he didn't want me wandering Paris alone.But I had insisted I needed space, I needed a few hours to myself, and he had finally relented with that patient look that said he was choosing his battles."A
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 173
THE DINNER~CÉSAR POV~Isabella's apartment in the 7th arrondissement was exactly what I had expected—elegant without being flashy, filled with art she had actually collected instead of bought for investment, floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the Seine, and that particular brand of understated wealth that old Italian money did better than anyone else.I had known Isa since we were eight years old, since my father had done business with her father and we had been thrown together at countless dinners and parties, and family gatherings.And she was one of the few people on earth who knew me before I became the Calavera, who remembered when I was just César, a boy who liked books and hated violence and wanted to be an architect instead of a criminal.She was also one of the only people who had never wanted anything from me except friendship, which made her almost impossibly rare in my world.Anya had been silent the entire car ride over, sitting in the back seat with Marcello betwe
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 172
ISABELLA~ANYA POV~The doorbell rang at ten-thirty on a Tuesday morning while I was loading the dishwasher with breakfast plates and César was in his office upstairs doing whatever it was he did when he made phone calls in Italian that always ended with someone sounding scared.I dried my hands on a kitchen towel and walked to the front door expecting maybe a delivery or one of the neighbors who had been persistently friendly since we moved in.I opened the door and found a woman who looked like she had stepped out of a fashion magazine.Tall, easily five-ten in the heels she was wearing, with dark hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail and the kind of bone structure that photographers probably fought over.She wore a cream-colored suit that probably cost more than I used to make in six months and carrying a designer bag I recognized from the windows of shops I had never been able to afford."Is César here?" she asked, her Italian accent polished and smooth.And she was looking at me w
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 171
THE YELLOW DRESS~ANYA POV~The balcony looked out onto a pretty garden that someone had clearly taken good care of for a long time. Roses grew on trellises and lavender was planted in neat rows, making the air smell nice when the wind blew. I sat in a metal chair with my feet tucked under me, a book on my lap, but I hadn't actually read any of it for twenty minutes.The yellow dress was in the closet when I woke up. It had flowers on it, fit me well at the top, and the skirt ended just below my knees. It looked fancy, like the kind of style French women have. I wore it because my old clothes from Porto were packed away somewhere and wearing César's gifts felt like the path of least resistance.I hated that it fit perfectly.Hated that when I looked in the mirror I saw someone who looked healthy, who looked rested, who looked like a woman living a good life instead of a captive plotting her escape.My hair had grown out over the months of hiding, the cheap dye I'd been using to ke
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 170
THE MEETING~CÉSAR POV~The meeting room upstairs smelled like fancy cigars and old fancy cologne.I sat at the head of the table with my hands folded in front of me while five men who thought they had power tried to explain why they had let a shipment get blocked by the French authorities.Pathetic.All of them.I could see the sweat beading on Moreau's forehead even though the room was climate-controlled. I could see the way Dmitri's hand kept twitching toward his inside pocket where he probably had a gun he was too scared to actually draw.I could see the calculation in Romano's eyes as he tried to figure out if throwing his partners under the bus would save his own skin."The intel was solid," Moreau was saying, his French accent thicker than usual because fear always made people revert to their native tongues. "We had the routes mapped, the customs officials paid off, everything in place.....""And yet," I interrupted, my voice quiet, "thirty million euros worth of product is no
CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 066
~ANYA POV~The noise of the restaurant seemed to fade away. The clinking of glasses, the soft music, the laughter—it all disappeared. The lights blurred in my vision. The whole world felt like it was tilting to the side."He... he killed her babies?" I whispered, my voice barely making a sound."He
Huling Na-update : 2026-03-23CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 067
~ANYA POV~The meal had been a blur. The rich smells of truffle and butter that had made me nauseous earlier still remained in the air, but the plates sat mostly untouched. I pushed my chair back slowly, my legs feeling heavy.Isidora, as always, was perfectly composed."Let's settle this," she sai
Huling Na-update : 2026-03-23CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 063
~ANYA POV~ The morning sun felt nosy, glaring against the windowpanes as Isidora decided our shopping trip had officially commenced.I stood before the mirror, nervously adjusting the oversized white dress shirt I had stolen from César's closet. It swallowed my frame, the hem brushing the tops of
Huling Na-update : 2026-03-23CALAVERA: The Mafia’s Caged Bride 060
~ANYA POV~(Evening, same day)The garden is quieter now.The air feels softer too, like the world is finally breathing again after everything that just happened. Regina's harsh words are still somewhere in the back of my mind, like tiny needles stuck in my thoughts, but strangely... I'm not hurtin
Huling Na-update : 2026-03-23
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